A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Thursday, November 20, 2014

I'll be tied up today with the MEI Annual Conference, but prepared this ahead of time because November 20 marks the centennial of the first shot fired on the Suez Canal Front in World War I, a minor affair, but an augury.

The Canal being Britain's lifeline to India, it had already been decided even before Turkey's entry into the War that Imperial forces (Indian, Australian, and New Zealand in this case) earmarked for France would train in Egypt. They would therefore be available to defend the Canal if it was threatened. Once Turkey joined the War, it was decided to station some of them there and deploy them for use in the region. A Territorial Division, the 42nd (East Lancashire) were sent out from Britain as well.

Gen. Sir John Maxwell

In September British forces in Egypt came under the control of Maj. Gen. Sir John Maxwell, a veteran of the Mahdist and Boer Wars (and later notorious for putting down the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916).

Zeki Pasha

Initially, the British were disdainful of the idea that the Ottoman Army could cross Sinai and threaten the Canal by land, though in January-February 1915 they would do just that. But although the Commander of the Turkish Fourth Army in Syria Zeki Pasha (later Zeki Baraz Kolaç Kılıçoğlu after 1934), had been ordered to prepare a campaign against the Suez Canal well before the declarations of war, he dithered and little was done. On November 18, 1914, he was relieved and the Ottoman Minister of Marine, Djemal Pasha, was designated to command the Fourth Army. Since Djemal (Cemal) was one of the ruling Young Turk Triumvirate, this indicated Enver's emphasis on the war with Britain.

The incident I want to talk about today occurred only two days after Zeki was transferred and well before Djemal had reached Syria, and it did not involve Ottoman regulars. On November 20, a small force of the Bikaner (or Bikanir) Camel Corps was attacked by mounted, pro-Turkish bedouin in the Sinai only about 20 miles east of the Canal.

Bikaner Camel Corps in Egypt

The Bikaner Camel Corps was an elite Indian force raised and commanded by the Maharaja of the Indian princely state of Bikaner in Rajasthan,

Gen. Maharaja Sir Ganja Singh

It had been founded as an elite camel cavalry by the Maharaja of Bikaner, General Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh, who would also serve on the Imperial War Cabinet during the war and attend the Paris Peace Conference. The Bikaners had served in Somaliland in 1902-1904 (against Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, "the mad mullah of Somaliland"), and was now one of the early Indian forces deployed to Egypt.

Meanwhile, on the 16th November, the Indian troops destined for the
defence of Egypt reached Suez, and battalions were moved as quickly as
possible to Ismailia and Port Said. Major-General A. Wilson, arrived
from India, was appointed G.O.C. Canal Defences. The Sirhind Brigade was
relieved and sailed on the 23rd to rejoin its division in France. At
the same time Sir J. Maxwell was informed of Lord Kitchener's project of
bringing the Australian and New Zealand contingents to Egypt for war
training. The intention was to send them later to France, but
temporarily they would be available as reserves in Egypt, where their
appearance would undoubtedly impress public opinion.

On the 20th
November occurred the first hostilities. A patrol of 20 men of the
Bikanir Camel Corps, under Captain A. J. H. Chope, was attacked at Bir
en Nuss, 20 miles east of Qantara, by 200 Bedouin, who approached it
under a white flag. The party extricated itself creditably, though with
casualties amounting to more than half its numbers. Unfortunately this
affair proved that the loyalty of the camel troopers of the Egyptian
Coastguard, several of whom accompanied the Bikanirs as guides, was
extremely doubtful, since they allowed themselves to be made prisoners
in a manner virtually amounting to desertion.

The map below shows the location of the attack at Bir al-Nuss, about 20 miles east of Qantara on the road to al-‘Arish.Though nothing more would happen on this front until January, the attack on British Empire forces just 20 miles from the Canal was a warning, and Britain began to strengthen the Canal defenses.

"Michael Collins Dunn is the editor of The Middle East Journal. He also blogs. His latest posting summarizes a lot of material on the Iranian election and offers some sensible interpretation. If you are really interested in the Middle East, you should check him out regularly."— Gary Sick, Gary's Choices

"Since we’re not covering the Tunisian elections particularly well, and neither does Tunisian media, I’ll just point you over here. It’s a great post by MEI editor Michael Collins Dunn, who . . . clearly knows the country pretty well."— alle, Maghreb Politics Review

"I’ve followed Michael Collins Dunn over at the Middle East Institute’s blog since its beginning in January this year. Overall, it is one of the best blogs on Middle Eastern affairs. It is a selection of educated and manifestly knowledgeable ruminations of various aspects of Middle Eastern politics and international relations in the broadest sense."— davidroberts at The Gulf Blog

"Michael Collins Dunn, editor of the prestigious Middle East Journal, wrote an interesting 'Backgrounder' on the Berriane violence at his Middle East Institute Editor’s Blog. It is a strong piece, but imperfect (as all things are) . . ."— kal, The Moor Next DoorThis great video of Nasser posted on Michael Collins Dunn’s blog (which is one of my favorites incidentally) ...— Qifa Nabki